Bert Kaempfert

Bert Kaempfert was born in Hamburg, Germany, where he received his lifelong nickname, Fips, and studied at the local school of music. A multi-instrumentalist, he was hired by
Hans Busch to play with his orchestra before serving as a bandsman in the German Navy during World War II. He later formed his own big band, toured with them, then worked as an
arranger and producer, making hit records with Freddy Quinn and Ivo Robić.

As a producer, Kaempfert also played a part in the rise of The Beatles when he signed a Liverpool-based singer named Tony Sheridan, who was performing in Hamburg, and needed to
recruit a band to play behind him on the proposed sides. He auditioned and signed the Beatles, and recorded two tracks with them during his sessions for Sheridan: "Ain't She Sweet",
sung by rhythm guitarist John Lennon and the instrumental "Cry for a Shadow", co-written by Lennon and lead guitarist George Harrison. Kaempfert's recording of the Beatles,
even as a backing band for Sheridan, provided an impetus to their subsequent success, even though none of the Kaempfert-recorded sides resembled the music for which they became famous.

Kaempfert's own first hit with his orchestra had been in 1960, "Wonderland by Night". Wonderland by Night, which was recorded in July 1959, couldn't get a hearing in Germany.
Instead, Kaempfert brought the track to Decca Records in New York, who released it in America in 1959; with its haunting solo trumpet, muted brass, and lush strings, the single
topped the American pop charts and turned Bert Kaempfert and Orchestra into international stars. Over the next few years, he revived such pop tunes as "Tenderly",
"Red Roses for a Blue Lady", "Three O'Clock in the Morning", and "Bye Bye Blues", as well as composing pieces of his own, including "Spanish Eyes (Moon Over Naples)", "Danke Schoen",
and "Wooden Heart", which were recorded by, respectively, Al Martino, Wayne Newton, and Elvis Presley. Frank Sinatra had a #1 hit with Kaempfert's "Strangers in the Night" in 1966.